STORY LINES Friday's game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Mark Neely (pxp) and Bruce Pearl (analyst) will serve as ESPN2 talent.  Baylor trails the all-time series against BYU, 3-5, but the Bears won 86-83 when the teams met in Provo on Dec. 17 last year.  Baylor is 4-0 this season and 86-8 in the Scott Drew era when shooting 50% or better from the field.  Through 10 games, Baylor is averaging 39.2 points in the paint per game and holding opponents to 27.0 PIP per game. Baylor's leaders are Isaiah Austin (9.6 PIP/game), Cory Jefferson (9.2 PIP/game) and Pierre Jackson (6.2 PIP/game).  Jackson was named Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, the 2nd straight year a Bear has been honored.  Jackson leads the Big 12 in scoring (19.3/gm) and assists (6.0/gm), ranks 4th in steals (2.2/gm) and 6th in AST/TO ratio (1.9).  Jackson also ranks 3rd in 3FGM (2.4/gm) and minutes (34.2/gm), 6th in FG% (44.6), 7th in 3FG% (36.4) and 11th in FT% (78.9).  Jackson has scored in double figures in 18 straight games, averaging 18.4 points and 6.2 assists per game during the streak.  Three Baylor players are in the Big 12's top 15 in scoring -- Jackson (1st, 19.3), Austin (8th, 13.9) and Jefferson (12th, 13.2).  Jefferson also leads the Big 12 in FG percentage (64.2), ranks 2nd in blocks (2.7/gm) and 5th in rebounding (8.0/gm).  With 2 blocks vs. USCU, Jefferson (73) passed Greg Davis (72 from 2000-02) for 10th on Baylor's career blocked shots list.  Jefferson is one of six players in BU history to record at least 70 blocks while averaging at least 1.00 block/gm.  Austin ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in rebounding (8.6), 4th in FG percentage (53.4) and 8th in scoring (13.9).  Austin leads all Big 12 freshmen in rebounding (8.6) and FG percentage (53.4) and ranks 2nd among freshmen in scoring (13.9).  Brady Heslip returned to the starting lineup at Kentucky (Dec. 1) after having his appendix removed on Nov. 20. He missed his first career game when Baylor played College of Charleston (Nov. 24), and he has now started 46 of 47 career games played.  Heslip has made at least one 3FG in 44 of 47 career games, including 32 games with 2+ 3FG and 20 games with 3+ 3FG.  A.J. Walton ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in steals (2.3), 3rd in AST/TO ratio (2.0) and 7th in assists (4.3/gm).  Baylor plays two of the nation's toughest non-conference road games this season -- at Rupp Arena, where Kentucky had a 55-game winning streak before Baylor won 64-55 -- and at Gonzaga (Dec. 28), where the Bulldogs are 111-8 all-time at The Kennel.  Baylor's win at No. 8 Kentucky was its first-ever non-conference road win against an AP Top 25 team. It snapped Kentucky's nation-leading 55-game home winning streak and gave the Wildcats their first home loss under fourth-year coach John Calipari.  Baylor has accounted for seven of the 37 double-doubles by Big 12 players this season.  Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 26th nationally with a 48.1 team field goal percentage (thru Dec. 16).  National team rankings (thru Dec. 16): 43rd scoring offense (77.1); 54th scoring margin (10.9); 60th assist-to-turnover ratio (1.19).  Baylor has the Big 12's 2nd-longest active streak with at least one 3-point field goal made in 667 consecutive games.

SERIES HISTORY Baylor is 3-5 all-time against BYU, including a loss in the only game played in Waco (92-86 on Dec. 1, 1978).  Baylor won the first series meeting in Kansas City in 1950, but BYU won five of the next six series meetings before the Bears won 86-83 in Provo on Dec. 17, 2011.  Baylor is 9-11 all-time against teams currently playing as members of the West Coast Conference. The Bears have faced BYU (3-5), Gonzaga (0-3), Loyola Marymount (1-0), Pepperdine (2-1), Saint Mary's (2-0), San Diego (1-0) and San Francisco (0-2).

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE Baylor is 48-9 at home in the last three-plus seasons, winning a Ferrell Center-record 15 home games in both 2009-10 and 2010-11, and going 14-3 at the Ferrell Center a season ago. Baylor is 74-18 in the last five-plus seasons at home, boasting an impressive .804 winning percentage.

TELEVISION COVERAGE Friday's game will be televised nationally on ESPN2, one of 21 regular-season games the Bears will play on ESPN networks this year. Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Bruce Pearl (analyst) will serve as the talent. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. CT.

A WIN WOULD ... Improve Baylor's all-time record against BYU to 4-5, including a 1-1 mark in games played in Waco.  Improve Baylor's all-time record against current West Coast Conference teams to 10-11.  Give Baylor an 8-3 or better record through its first 11 games for the seventh consecutive season.  Be Scott Drew's 165th career victory as Baylor head coach -- 36 shy of Bill Henderson's Baylor record.  Improve Baylor's record to 42-13 in the month of December in the Drew era, including a 34-4 mark in its last 38 December games.  Improve its record to 92-26 against non-conference competition in the Drew era.

AUSTIN'S HISTORIC NIGHT EARNS BIG 12 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Isaiah Austin made history on Dec. 12 when he had 23 points and 17 rebounds against Lamar.  Austin was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 17) for his performance, the second time he's been honored this season.  It was the fourth time a Baylor player has reached those numbers and the first time since Terry Black (32p/17r; 11/27/99).  Austin joined Kevin Durant (Texas) and Michael Beasley (Kansas State) as the only Big 12 freshmen to reach those numbers.  Austin had a double-double with three minutes left in the first half -- his second career double-double.

JACKSON'S DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK REACHES 18 Pierre Jackson has scored in double figures in 18 straight games, averaging 18.4 points and 6.2 assists per game during the streak.  Jackson's is the Big 12's longest active double-figure scoring streak, five ahead of the next closest -- Texas' Sheldon McClellan (13).  Jackson entered the 2012-13 season on pace to become the 26th 1,000-point scorer in school history. Jackson, who scored 523 points in his first season in Waco last year, needs 284 points to become the 8th 1,000-point scorer in the Scott Drew era, joining Aaron Bruce, Curtis Jerrells, Henry Dugat, Kevin Rogers, LaceDarius Dunn, Tweety Carter and Quincy Acy.  Jackson needs to average 13.5 points per game over the next 21 games to reach 1,000 points prior to the postseason.

JEFFERSON WORKING WAY UP BLOCKS CHART Cory Jefferson (73) moved past Greg Davis (72 from 2000-02) for 10th on Baylor's career blocked shots list on Dec. 17.  Jefferson is one of six players in program history to record 70 or more career blocks while averaging at least 1.00 blocks per game.  Among players on Baylor's top 10 blocks list, only Ekpe Udoh (36) and Davis (56) have played fewer career games than Jefferson.

50% SHOOTING IS KEY TO VICTORY Baylor is 4-0 this season and 86-8 during the Scott Drew era when shooting 50% or better from the field.  By contrast, the Bears are 3-3 this season and 78-119 in the Drew era when missing more shots than they make.  The same goes for holding opponents under 50% -- Baylor is 157-61 in the Drew era when opponents shoot less than 50% and 7-65 when they shoot 50% or better from the field.

DOMINATING POINTS IN THE PAINT Despite losing three frontcourt players to the 2012 NBA Draft, Baylor is averaging 39.2 points in the paint per game this season, and the Bears are holding opponents to 27.0 PIP per game.  Frontcourt players Isaiah Austin (9.6 PIP/game), Cory Jefferson (9.2 PIP/game) and Rico Gathers (5.0 PIP/game) do most of the damage, along with point guard Pierre Jackson (6.2 PIP/game) and guard A.J. Walton (4.2 PIP/game).  Baylor set a Scott Drew era record with 68 points in the paint in its season-opening win against Lehigh.

DECEMBERS TO REMEMBER Baylor has gone undefeated in the month of December in four of the last five seasons and is 3-1 this December.  The Bears went 7-0 in December 2011, 3-3 in 2010, 4-0 in 2009, 6-0 in 2008 and 6-0 in 2007.  Baylor is 33-4 in its last 37 December games, and the Bears are 41-13 in December games in the Scott Drew era.

NON-CONFERENCE HOME SUCCESS Baylor has won 31 of its last 33 non-conference home games. The Bears won 29 consecutive non-conference home games between a one-point loss to South Carolina on Jan. 2, 2009, and a four-point loss to College of Charleston on Nov. 24, 2012.  Baylor went undefeated in non-conference home games in each of the last three seasons (8-0 in 2009-10, 10-0 in 2010-11 and 8-0 in 2011-12). The Bears are 4-2 this season in non-conference home games.

WALTON NOW 4TH ON BAYLOR'S WINS CHART Senior G A.J. Walton is tied with Josh Lomers for 4th on Baylor's all-time list with 82 career wins.  Walton has played 15 fewer games than anyone else in program history to eclipse 80 wins.  With a win vs. BYU, Walton would pass Josh Lomers for sole possession of 4th place, despite playing 14 fewer games.  Cory Jefferson (53) needs 9 more wins to tie Henry Dugat (62) for 10th on the Bears' career wins list.

TWO OF NATION'S TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE ROAD GAMES Baylor plays two of the nation's toughest non-conference road games this season -- at Kentucky's Rupp Arena (Baylor defeated No. 8 Kentucky on Dec. 1) and at Gonzaga's McCarthy Athletic Center (Dec. 28).  The Bears beat No. 8 Kentucky, 64-55, snapping the Wildcats' nation-leading 55-game home winning streak. That streak was 30 games longer than the next closest active streak, and Kentucky was 54-0 at home under head coach John Calipari.  Baylor plays at Gonzaga's McCarthy Athletic Center (The New Kennel), where the Bulldogs are 111-8 all-time and average less than one home loss per season. Gonzaga's 17-game home winning streak was tied for the nation's 5th-longest active streak before it was snapped in a loss to No. 13 Illinois on Dec. 8.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES ALL AROUND Baylor has accounted for seven of the 37 double-doubles by Big 12 players this season.  Isaiah Austin (3) and Cory Jefferson (2) are two of seven Big 12 players with multiple double-doubles this year.  Pierre Jackson and Rico Gathers have also had double-doubles this season.  Active Big 12 players have combined for 14 career double-digit assist games, and Jackson (six) and A.J. Walton (two) have combined for eight of those 14 games with 10 or more assists.

UP NEXT Baylor heads back out on the road to face Gonzaga at The McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 28. The Bulldogs are 110-8 all-time at "The New Kennel".